At the
National Memorial in Savar, he placed a wreath to show respect to Bangladesh’s
independence heroes.

Housing
and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Liberation War Affairs Minister
Mozammel Huq, and top military and civilian officers greeted the pope at the
memorial.

He
stayed at the memorial for a little over 25 minutes. A contingent from the
three forces gave him salute.

Pope Francis
observed a minute’s silence in remembrance of the martyrs.

He also
signed the visitors’ book and planted a tree at the memorial.

Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Rehana and her son Radwan Mujib Siddiq
guided the pope during his visit to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

At the
presidential residence Bangabhaban, the pope also met Cabinet members and
diplomats at the Darbar Hall.

He later
went the Vatican embassy in Baridhara for an overnight stay.

Avoiding ‘Rohingya’

During
his visit to Myanmar, the pope made no direct reference to the plight of the
Rohingya Muslims to avoid a diplomatic incident with a Buddhist-majority
country some have accused of ethnic cleansing.

He has
again avoided the term ‘Rohingya’ in his address to an event with President
Hamid hours after his arrival.

He
instead spoke of “refugees from the Rakhine State”.

On the
second day of his tour, he will lead a Mass at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan.
Later, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Vatican
embassy.

Later in
the day, the pope will hold a meeting with bishops at Ramna Cathedral in
Kakrail and attend an Interreligious and Ecumenical Meeting for Peace there to
preach communal harmony.

Vatican
spokesman Greg Burke, briefing reporters on the trip on Nov 22, said ‘a small
group’ of Rohingya refugees will be present at the meeting for peace.

On
Saturday, he will visit the Mother Teresa Homes in Tejgaon. The visit will be
followed by meetings with priests and religious leaders at the Holy Rosary
Church. Pope Francis will visit the graveyard there afterwards.

In the
afternoon, he will attend a session to exchange views with the youths at the
Notre Dame College.

He will
leave Dhaka at 5pm Saturday after being seen off by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood
Ali at the airport.

Catholics
make up a tiny minority in Bangladesh.

Born as
Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 at Buenos Aires, Pope Francis ordained priesthood
in 1969. He is also the first from the Americas, and the first from the
Southern Hemisphere.

The St Mary's Cathedral at Ramna Road in Dhaka's Kakrail is lit up on Wednesday evening, a day ahead of Pope Francis' three-day visit to Bangladesh. Photo: tanvir ahammed

In
contrast to the balancing act in Myanmar, where he avoided using the term
‘Rohingya’, the Catholic leader is expected to speak on the latest influx of
more than 600,000 into Bangladesh.

Defending
the pope on not using the word ‘Rohingya’, the Vatican said on Wednesday that
his moral authority was unblemished and that his mere presence drew attention
to the refugee crisis, Reuters reported.

But a
Vatican media call in Myanmar’s Yangon to wrap the pope’s visit only served to
highlight the diplomatic minefield that the issue had presented for Francis.

According
to Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, the pope's decision not to refer to the
Rohingyas did not take away from anything he has said in the past - he had
mentioned them and their suffering before his Myanmar visit - but added that
Vatican diplomacy was "not infallible" and others were entitled to
their views.

Muddying
the waters for the Vatican delegation, a Myanmar regional bishop cast doubt at
the same news conference about allegations of ethnic cleansing, suggesting
"other communities" might be responsible for stoking them, according
to the Reuters report.

"When
we speak of the truth, we should go to an authoritative source or a reliable
source to get the news ... Those who criticise should go to the scene to study
the reality and history,” it quoted Bishop John Hsane Hgyi as saying.